Reservoir desk stand



May 22, 1951 L. P. MARTIN RESERVOIR DESK STAND Filed Aug. 13, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 22, 1951 P. MARTIN RESERVOIR DESK STAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 13, 1947 IIIIIII ll GZWW Patented May 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RESERVOIR DESK STAND Lynn P. Martin, Fort Madison, Iowa, assignor to W. A. Sheafier Pen Company, Fort Madison, Iowa, a corporation of Delaware Application August 13, 1947, Serial No. 768,402

Claims.

well into which a pen may be dipped; and the: invention has for an object the provision of improved and compact desk stands of this character which present an attractive appearance and are reliable in operation.

Desk stands of the reservoir type having a pen-supporting opening disposed over a well for receiving the point of a pen have heretofore been constructed in such a manner that the ink is automatically supplied to the well from an inverted ink bottle or similar reservoir as the ink in the well is used up by the writing pen. Such prior desk stands, however, have been characterized by a tendency of the ink in the well to dry up due to excessive evaporation, and have been found objectionable due to the fact that tipping, improper positioning or jarring of the desk stand has resulted in spilling of the ink from the stand. Furthermore, such prior constructions have been rather cumbersome and unsightly in appearance, and difilculties have been encountered in replenishing the supply of ink either by inverting a standard ink bottle in the desk stand or otherwise refilling the reservoir without spilling of the ink. Accordingly, it is a further object of this invention to provide a reservoir desk stand wherein an excessive flow of ink from the reservoir to the well is prevented at all times even though the stand is tilted or inverted from its normal position.

An additional object of the invention resides in the provision of a reservoir desk stand wherein the reservoir may be quickly and easily filled or refilled without danger of spilling the ink.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a desk stand having an expansion chamber for receiving excess ink which may overflow from the well, as for example when excess ink is expelled from the reservoir by an increase in the ambient temperature conditions and wherein spillage of the excess ink from the expansion chamber is prevented even though the stand is tipped or jarred.

In carrying out the invention in one form a lation together with means forming a feed passageway extending laterally from the reservoir to the well, the reservoir being sealed against the entry of air thereinto except through the feed passageway. More particularly, means are provided for cooperating with the feed passageway to control the admission of air to the reservoir and the consequent flow of ink to the well,

the control means and the feed passageway be-' ing effective when the desk stand is tipped from its normal position to provide a liquid seal which functions to prevent the flow of excess ink from the reservoir during tipping of the stand. An expansion chamber surrounding the well serves to contain any excess ink which may overflow from the well, and is provided with an opening in the top wall thereof through which a pen may be inserted into the well, the opening being surrounded by a downwardly extending wall or guard for preventing spillage of the excess ink from the expansion chamber even though the stand is tipped, and capillary means associated with the expansion chamber and the well and with the expansion chamber and the reservoir are provided for returning to the well or the reservoir the excess ink contained in the expansion chamber.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference should now be had to the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a, perspective view of a reservoir desk stand embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the desk stand shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the upper and lower body portions from which the desk stand is formed, the upper body portion being upturned on one edge more clearly ,to illustrate the internal construction;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the lower body portion shown in Fig. 3 in disassembled relation with a closure strip, the lower body portion being inverted to illustrate the constructional details;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the lower body portion partially in section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a similar longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 88 of Fig.1;

Fig. 9 is a similar transverse sectional view taken along the line 99 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 10 is a detail elevational view of an in-- shown as embodied in a reservoir desk stand l which is of substantially rectangular configuration having end walls It and H and side walls l8 and I9. Preferably, the desk stand is formed of two body portions and 2| (Fig. 3), the upper body portion including the end and side walls It and I! and land [3, and also including a top Wall 22. The lower body portion 21 provides the bottom wall 23 for the desk stand and, as shown, the end and side walls formed on the upper body portion 29 are recessed at their lower edges so as to permit the upper body portion .20 to telescope over the lower body portion, the edges of the bottom wall 23 being arranged to abut the shoulder 24 which extends around the end and side walls of the upper body portion.

Extending transversely of the stand or base l5, and preferably forming an integral part of the upper body portion 20, is the wall 25 which serves to divide the space within the stand into a reservoir 26 and an expansion chamber 21. In order to provide a tight seal when the upper and lower body portions are assembled, the bottom wall 23 on the lower body portion 21 is preferably provided with a transversely extending tongue 28 adapted to be received Within a groove 29 extending along the bottom edge of the wall 25. Disposed within the expansion chamber 25 at the end of the stand 15 remote from the reservoir 26 is a well 33, which is preferably formed integrally with the lower body portion 21 and comprises a conical recess disposed in angular relation as shown.

Also disposed within the expansion chamber 21, and adapted to supply ink from the reservoir 26 to the well .30, is a feed passageway which comprises a longitudinal portion 3! extending along the side wall [8 of the base and a laterally extending portion 32 which extends along the end H of the base. As shown best in Fig. 3, the portions 31 and 32 of the feed passageway are preferably formed integrally with thelower body portion 2| and with the well 33. The passageways 3| and 32, asshown best in Fig. 4, extend through the bottom wall Y23, and a small auxiliary passageway 33 is provided communicating with the portion 32 of the feed passageway intermediate its ends and extending parallel to the passageway portion 32 beneath the bottom wall of the base. Communicating with the auxiliary passageway 33 at the end thereof, and extending angularly upwardly therefrom so as to communicate with the bottom of the well 30, is a small passageway 34, which likewise forms a portion of the feed passageway and serves to supply ink to, the bottom of the well from the reservoir 26.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the end of the longitudinal passageway 31 is .adapted to communicate with the reservoir 26, and, as shown in Fig. 3, the wall 25 which divides the base into the reservoir 26 and theexpansion chamber 21 is provided with an opening 35 communicating with the end of the passageway portion 3!, one surface of the wall 25being recessed, as indicated by the reference numeral 36, .to receive the end of the passageway portion 3| and provide a tight 4 seal between the reservoir and the feed passageway.

As shown best in Figs. 6 and 9, the transverse passageway portion 32 of the feed passageway extends beyond its point of communication with the auxiliary passageway 33 and terminates directly behind the well 30, the upper wall of the feed passageway portion :32 bein provided with a downwardly extending dam 3'! disposed in '5 spaced relation to the end wall of the passageway 32 to define a regulating chamber 38. Extending laterally from the regulating chamber 38 and communicating with the well 30 at a point above the normal liquid level therein is an air passageway39, the purpose of which will be more fully set forth hereinafter.

As shown best in Figs. 1, 3 and 6 the portion of the top wall 22 which forms the top Wall of the expansion chamber 21 is provided with an opening 49 which is offset from the Well 30, and a downwardly extending guard or wall 4!, which surrounds the opening 40, is angularly disposed as shown so that a pen inserted through the opening 40 is supported in an inclined position by the wall 4| with its point disposed in the well 30. Preferably, the guard ;or wall 4| is provided with grooves 42 soas to presenta discontinuous supporting surface and prevent an accumulation of ink on the writing -end portion of the holder.

In order to provide for filling of the reservoir 26 without danger of ink being spilled out of the base or stand during the filling operation, the upper body portion 20 of the stand is provided, as shown best in Fig. 3, with a filling passageway 43 which communicates with a-suitable aperture 44 in the wall 25 and extends across the expansion chamber 21 so as to communicate with the exterior of the base'through the end wall 11. As shown bestin Fig. 7, this filling passageway 43 is interally threaded as indicated by the reference numeral 45 to receive a suitable closure member 46 which is provided with cooperating threads, the outer end of the closure member 45 being provided with a suitable transverse groove 41 and a rib 48 to facilitate proper tightening of the closure member or removal of the closure member from the fillin passageway.

It will be understood that when the upper and lower bodyportions 20 and 2| are assembled to form the base or stand l5 all of the cooperating joints and edges will be suitably sealed to insure that the reservoir rendered air tight, and in order to prevent assembly of the upper and lower body portions in improper end-to-end relation the lower body portion 2| is provided along one edge with a notch 49 adapted to receive a corresponding projection-50 in the upper body portion 23. The notch 49 and projection 50 are,

primarily to facilitate the molding operation, but, being offset longitudinally from a mid-position, also facilitate proper assembly of the two body portions. The lower wall of the passageway portions 31, 32 and 33 and of the regulating chamber 33 comprises aproperly shaped closure strip 5| (Fig. 4) which is adapted to fit within a suitable recess formed in the underside of the lower body portion 2| and to be sealed therein by any suitable means.

Having in mind the above described features of construction of the reservoir desk stand 15, it is thought that -a oomplete understanding of the invention may be had from adescription of the operation. In order to fill the reservoir 23 of the desk stand 15 with ink, it isnecessary only to t rn th ..a ts and.tQ-anendw s p on in which it rests on. the end wall [6 and then withdraw from the filling passageway 43 the 010-.- sure member 46, whereupon ink may be poured through the filling passageway into the reservoir. It will be noted that during the filling operation the well 30 is at the upper end of the base adjacent the end wall I! and consequently there is nodanger of ink leaking or spilling out of the well. Furthermore, air from the reservoir may pass freely through the feed passageway portions 3! and 32 and out of the well 30 into the expansion chamber 21 as this air is displaced from the reservoir 26 by the ink.

Although the ink may be supplied to the .reservoir from any suitable container or bottle, the chances of accidental spilling of the ink will be minimized through the use of special containers which are available on the market. These special ink containers or bottles are provided with a neck of sufiiciently small diameter to fit within the enlarged outer end of the filling passageway 43 so that the bottle may be completely inverted with its neck inserted into the filling passage-v way. One type of small necked bottle available on the market is provided, in addition to the usual outer seal or cap, with an inner seal which must be displaced or punctured before ink can be poured from the bottle. Where such a container is used to supply ink to the reservoir 26 the filling passageway 43 of the desk stand is preferably provided with an insert member such as is shown best in Figs. 7-12, inclusive. This insert member 52 comprises a tubular body adapted to fit within the filling passageway 43 as shown in Fig. 7. The inner end of the insert member 52 is provided with a plurality of grooves 53 on its outer periphery through which the ink may freely flow around the outside of the insert member when the member is positioned in the filling passageway. Likewise, the insert member 52 is provided with a flange 54 adapted to rest on a suitable shoulder 55 formed intermediate the ends of the filling passageway, and a suitable finger or arm 56 extends outwardly from one end of the insert member 52 to a position closely adjacent the end of the filling passage.

When the container having the above referred to inner seal is inverted over the open upper end of the filling passageway and pressed downwardly thereinto the arm 56 functions to displace the inner seal only after the neck of the bottle has entered the filling passageway so that the ink may thereafter flow into the passageway. through the reservoir. Thus there is no danger of spilling the ink before the bottle is properly positioned relative to the filling passageway. As shown bestin Fig. '7 the closure member 46 is preferably of hollow construction so as to receive the outer end of the insert member 52 when the closure member is placed in position to seal the filling passageway 43. Thus the insert member may remain permanently in the filling passageway 43 and will be availablefor effecting automatic opening of the specially sealed ink bottle whenever the closure member 46 is removed.

After the reservoir has been filled and the closure member 46 screwed tightly into place so as to seal the filling passageway 43, thereby pre-' venting the entry of air into the reservoir through the filling passageway, the desk stand. l5 may be placed in its normal position for supporting and supplying ink to a pen. When the stand is first returned to its normal position ink flows 33 and. 34 of the feed passageway to the bottom of the well 30 and the level of the ink in the well in the feed passageway will rise until the ink completely fills the opening 51 beneath the dam 31, which opening 51 communicates the regulating chamber 38 with the portion 32 of the feed passageway. As soon as the ink in the feed passageway reaches a sufficient height to close off the opening 51 a liquid seal is provided for the reservoir and the flow of ink therefrom will cease because no more air can be admitted to the reservoir through the feed passageway. During the rise of ink in the feed passageway and the well air is of course expelled from the feed passageway through the opening 39 communieating the regulating chamber 38 with the upper portion of the well 30. The wall or dam 31 is so proportioned as to insure that when the flow of ink from the reservoir stops by reason of the creation of the liquid seal the level of the ink in the well 30 will be of the desired height to furnish ink to a pen inserted through the opening 40 so that its writing point rests in the well.

As ink is withdrawn from the well 30 by the pen the level of the ink in the well tends to fall, since no more ink can flow out of the reservoir which is sealed from the atmosphere. However, the body of. ink contained in the regulating chamber 38 is open to the atmosphere through the passage 39 and consequently ink will be drawn from the regulating chamber through the passageways 33 and 34, thereby reducing the level of the ink contained in the regulating chamber. When the level of the ink contained in the regulating chamber 38 falls to approximately the bottom edge of the dam 31, the liquid seal will be broken and a bubble of air will pass under the dam into the feed passageway portion 32, and since this air may pass through the feed passageway into the reservoir a corresponding amount of ink will flow out of the reservoir into the regulating chamber 38 and the well 30 so as to re-establish the desired ink level in the well.

The above described action, i. e,, the admission of a bubble of air into the reservoir whenever the ink level in the well and the regulating chamber decreases a'predetermined amount and the" consequent flow of ink to the regulating chamber and well, will continue until all of the ink from the reservoir has been supplied to the well for use therein. The provision of an air inlet which is independent of the passageway 34 through which ink is supplied to the bottom of the well '30 enables the desk stand to maintain automatically an exceptionally close control of the ink level in the well. As shown, the well 30 is provided with a fissure or cut so of capillary dimensions, leading from the well to the expansion chamber 21, and a second fissure or cut 65, likewise of capillary dimensions is provided in the bottom wall 23 extending beneath the wall 25 so as to provide a capillary connection between the reservoir 26 and the expansion cham desk'stand is subjected this confined body of air. m. i reservoir la es. i s .29rii9. it-3?';. e expands so as to force aegis nk ou or h voir into the expansion chamber through the fissureBS and also into the-well :30 through .the feed passageway. The excess sink thus forced into the'well 1.30 is discharged from the well into the expansion chamber through .the fissure 69 or may even .overfiow the lower edgeof the well 30. Under ordinary temperature changes, however, the :excess inkforced into the well 30 from the reservoir will pass through the fissure 60 without materially increasing the level of the ink in the well 30, and-accordingly the ink remains at a low enough level so that only the tip of the pen point is covered by-the ink even though the expansion chamber 21 contains a considerable body-of ink.

Whenever the ambient temperature decreases the confined body of air within the reservoir 26 of course contracts, and ink'willbe drawn from the -expansionchamber-2i through'the fissure 65 directly into the reservoir '26 and at the same time ink will be drawn through the fissure 60, the well 30 and the feed passageways '34, 33, 3-2 and 3! back to the reservoir. This withdrawal of ink through the fissures 80 and 65 occurs before any air will pass through the passageway '39 and the opening 51 into the feed passageways. In order to accomplish this withdrawal of ink from-the expansion chamber the proportions of the'fissure cuts 60 and65 and the various passageways are so related that less 'force is required to'draw theexcess ink through the fissures 60 and65 from-the expansion chamber 21 than is required to breakthe liquid seal beneath the dam -3-l. Consequently, repeated contraction and expansion of the body of air contained within the "reservoir 26 due to changes in the ambient temperature will not expel into the expansion chamber-sufiicient ink-to fill the chamber above a level greater thanthat at which the desired ink level is maintained in the well 3! While two capillaryfissures 60 and 65 have been shown, it-will be understood that either of these fissures may be omitted in desk "stands embodying the invention, "the function of the two fissures being identical except that .the fissure 65 returns excess ink-directly to thereservoir vfrom the expansion chamber while thefissure 60 effects the return of ink through the well 30 and therfeed passageways. When the fissure 60 is omitted, excess ink contained in the expansion chamber?! will be returned directly to thereservoir 26 through the "fissure 55, the activating forcebeing-due-either'to a decrease in the ambienttenrperature "or to the withdrawal of ink from the well 30. The flow of ink into the reservoir 26through the fissure 651 due to the withdrawal of ink'fromth'e well 30 permits additional ink to flow from the reservoir to the well 3.0 without the admission of air to the reservoir through the feed passageways.

jAs heretofore indicated, one of the greatest difiiculties encountered in prior reservoir desk stands has been the'inability of the stand ,to control the ink level when 1tipped or 'jarred, and in such prior constructions all of the ink may run out of'thereservoirjin the event that the stand is'tipped to an excessive angle. In desk stands embodying the presentinvention, however, the desired ink level in the well is maintained and the flow of excess ink from the'reservoir is prevented when the stand is tipped to any .angle or even if the stand is completely inverted. This desirable result -is accomplished'by the interrelation ofithe'sealed reservoir, the various feed passageways and the well.

ill

As is'welliunderstoodzin'the art, an :.air bubble will not travel downwardly through .a body of liquid nor will :it;.trave1 any substantially lateral distance in .a passageway filled with liquid, the body of liquid .in either .case serving as a liquid seal. Referring toliFigs. 5 and 6, if it is assumed that the stand is 'ttipped up on end soas to rest on the end wall 1:7,:it willbe observed that the two passageways :34 and .39 extend downwardly from the respectiveends thereof which are open to the atmosphere. Consequently, before anyink can flow out of these passageways intothe expansion chamber"?! itzwould be necessary for an air .bubble'to travel downwardly through the ink in thepassageways-34and'39. Such travel of the air bubble is impossible and, consequently, .a liquid-seal isprovided'which prevents the-flow of ink from .the reservoir 26 even vthough'the body of ink contained therein .isataxmuch higher. level than the Well13ll. Furthermore the capillary dimensions of the fissure I65 retain a fluid film acting as .a seal strongenoughtoresist the free flow of .airirom. the expansion chamber 27 into the reservoir 26 with the stand in this position the same as'when the stand is .in its normal position. Sincetair is not admitted into reservoir 26 through passage 65, ink cannot bereleasedtherefrom and neither through passage 30.

Likewise,referring again-to Fig. 5, let it be assumed that the stand is turned up on one side so as to rest onthe side wall I8. Under these condi tions admission of air to the reservoir 26 and the consequent overflow of ink from the reservoir through the well 30 would require that a bubble of air pass downwardly through the portion 32 of the feed passageway. This again is an impossible condition and again aliquid seal is provided for the ink in the reservoir.

If the stand is tipped up so as to rest on the end Wall 16, it will be apparent that-the level of ink in the reservoir will fall below the opening into the reservoir of the portion 3| of the feed passageway, and consequently no overflow of ink from th reservoir to the well is possible. When thestand is tipped so as to rest on the side wall [9, the level of the ink-in the reservoir 26 will, under most conditions, fall below the opening into the reservoir of the portion "31 of the feed passageway, but even though'the reservoir is completely full so that the level-of the ink is above this opening there will be'no undesirable flow of ink due to the fact that the passages 3 and 39 leading to the Well 30 are the same size and in this position of the stand ,are at the same level. Accordingly, the passageways being substantially horizontal, there is no head of fluid sufficient to overbalance the air and fluid relationship so as to cause the ink toflow out and a bubble of air to pass into the feed passageways.

Thus it'will beseen, that the only ink that may freely spill into the expansion chamber 21 when the stand is tipped, is the small quantity of ink contained in the well 30, which small quantity of ink'will readily be contained within the expansion chamber 21 until such time as the stand is returned to its .normal position, whereupon this excess ink in the expansion chamber '2? will be returned to the well 30 through the fissure cuts 60 and 65. If due toabnormal use an undesirable quantity of ink should accumulate in the expansion chamberZT, this excess ink can be drained from the expansion chamber 2"! back into the reservoir 26 by gravity throughthe fissure 65 sim-' ply by resting the stand on the end wall 16 for a suificient length or time. The body of ink in the 1L9 expansion chamber would thus be resting on and above the fissure 65, and this ink: would be'returned to th reservoir through thispassageway. 65. In order that this may be done an equal amount of air must be taken from the reservoir to allow for the displacement of the ink being returned.

The air is expelled from the reservoir through the combination of passageways to the vent 39 into the upper portion of the expansion chamber and subsequently to opening 40. As will be seen from the above description, draining the expansion chamber in the above described manner is accomplished by the force of gravity, and is an action independent of that whereby excess ink is removed from the expansion chamber when contraction of the air in the reservoir occurs.

Even though a substantial quantity of ink should accumulate in the expansion chamber 21 due to extreme variations in ambient temperature conditions or to other causes, spillage of ink from the desk stand is, except under conditions of extreme misuse, prevented by the construction of the guard or wall 4| which surrounds the opening 40. It will be observed that this guard or wall, in any position to which the stand may be tipped, forms a barrier against the flow of ink out of the opening 40. Thus reservoir desk stands constructed in accordance with the present invention may be termed completely spill-proof regardless of the manner in which the desk stand is positioned.

In order to insure that all of the ink from the reservoir 26 and any excess ink which may accumulate within the expansion chamber 21 and which is not returned to the reservoir 26 through the fissure 65 will be available for use in the well 30, the lower body portion 2| of the desk stand is preferably so formed as to provide a slope to the bottom wall 23. As shown best in Fig. 7, this bottom wall slopes downwardly from the end wall l6 toward the intermediate wall 25 and downwardly from this intermediate wall to the end wall l1. Although the upper and lower body portions 20 and 2| may be made of any suitable material, they are preferably molded from a suitable moldable plastic material, and in order to provide greater mass or stability it may be desirable to mount suitable metal pads or weights 6| on the lower surface of the bottom wall 23. For this purpose the undersurface of the bottom wall 23 is provided with integrally formed projections or rivets 62 adapted to extend through suitable openings in the metal plates or pads 63 (Fig. 4), the ends of the rivet 62 being thereafter formed to lock the pads or weights in the desired position.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto since many modifications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A reservoir desk stand comprising a reservoir adapted to be sealed from the atmosphere, an expansion chamber adjacent said reservoir disposed laterally thereof and separated therefrom by a common wall, said expansion chamber having an opening in the upper wall thereof for receiving a pen, a well disposed in said expansion chamber for receiving the point of said pen when inserted through said opening, means forming a passageway -for conriectiingsaidwell to said reser'-'vv voir, said expansion chamber serving to con tain excess inkoverflowing from said well, a wall surrounding said op'ening'and extending down wardly from said upper wall to form a barrier preventing spillage of ink from said expansion chamber through said opening when said stand is tilted, and capillary means interconnecting said expansion'cliambe'rand said reservoir adjacent said common wall independent of said passageway for returning excess ink from said expansion chamber to said reservoir.

2. A reservoir desk stand comprising a reservoir adapted to be sealed from the atmosphere, an expansion chamber in side by side relationship to said reservoir and spaced therefrom by a wall member, the bottom of said reservoir lying in substantially the same plane as the bottom of said expansion chamber, a well disposed in said expansion chamber for receiving the point of a pin, means forming a feed passageway for connecting said well to said reservoir, and capillary means adjacent a lower portion of said wall member interconnecting said expansion chamber and said reservoir for transferring ink therebetween upon changes in the ambient temperature.

3. A reservoir desk stand comprising a reservoir adapted to be sealed from the atmosphere, an expansion chamber having a bottom wall adjacent said reservoir, a well disposed in said expansion chamber for receiving the point of a pen, means forming a feed passageway for connecting said well to said reservoir, first capillary means adjacent the bottom wall of said expansion chamber interconnecting said well and said expansion chamber, and second capillary means interconnecting said reservoir and said expansion chamber, said first and second capillary means serving to conduct ink to said expansion chamber upon an increase in the ambient temperature and for returning ink from said expansion chamber to said well and to said reservoir.

4. A reservoir desk stand comprising a hollow base, wall means extending across said base interiorly thereof to provide a reservoir and an expansion chamber disposed in side by side relation, said expansion chamber including an upper wall having an opening therein, a well disposed in said expansion chamber for receiving the point of a pen through said opening, means forming a feed passageway for connecting said well to said reservoir, said expansion chamber I serving to contain excess ink overflowing from said well, and capillary means independent of said feed passageway adjacent said wall means opening into a bottom portion of said expansion chamber and communicating with a bottom portion of said reservoir.

5. A reservoir desk stand comprising a hollow base, wall means extending across said base interiorly thereof to provide a reservoir and an expansion chamber in side by side relation, a well in said expansion chamber adjacent the end of said base remote from said reservoir, means forming a feed passageway extending along one side and one end of said expansion chamber for supplying fluid from said reservoir to said well, an enclosed regulating chamber communicating with said passageway having a downwardly extending dam member under which air passes from an upper portion of said regulating chamber into said passageway and reservoir as fluid is withdrawn from'said well, said regulating cham- 2,5:68, l9'9- 111"; t2 hen. beingsprovided, with; akventflin. the form. of. a REFERENCES. CITED. bone, terminating. in anlnner. sid'e walI of said well above. the Qpening, at saidpassageway into filev patent: said welL. and, capillary means independent of saidieed passageway adiacent. said. wall means 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS communicating abott'om gortion of said. expan- Number- Name. Date siomch-amber with a bottom portionrof saidresen- 2,249,616 Martin July-15, 1941- voir. 2,390,667 Sengbusch- Dec; 11; 1945 LYNN P. MARTIN.

The following references are m record in the 

